The thing that would mostly make the results of the experiment invalid would be the students themselves. No one is built the same, and the exact same food can have very different effects on different people.
Warm water is most likely
Cells send out signals when they're in distress.
With the salient features of this patient comprising of heartburn, difficulty swallowing, and globus sensation (feeling of lump in throat); everything points out to the impression of gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. GERD is the backflow of highly acidic stomach acid to the esophagus. The epithelium of the esophagus is not adapted to these highly acidic environments therefore causing damage to the epithelium which is responsible for the symptoms.
Chronic GERD is a risk factor for columnar metaplasia of the esophageal epithelium or Barrett's esophagus; and developing Barrett's esophagus is a risk factor for developing esophageal adenocarcinoma.